Published: Monday, August 19, 2013 at 5:51 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, August 19, 2013 at 5:51 p.m.

For Tim Colbert and his crew at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co., the goal is to remain as anonymous as possible. But if not for the thousands of hours of hard work they put in, the facility would quickly fall into disrepair.

“There a lot of activity that goes on behind the scenes that no one really appreciates until it’s not there,” said Tom Ventura, OBS president.

That’s why nothing is left to chance. Everything, from the placement of fire extinguishers to making sure cold water coolers are constantly filled, has been carefully thought out. And Colbert, whose official title is superintendent, is really more of a logistics expert.

“Every job I’ve ever had has led me to this. I enjoy the logistics of an operation. My dad says it’s the perfect job for me,” said Colbert, who recently completed his first year at OBS.

The work of the 13 full-time and 30 contract workers will be on display during the three-day August Yearling Sale, which runs today through Thursday.

Nearly 800 horses will be on the property during the sale, and that many horses create tons of muck, which is manure mixed with soiled straw. Even through there is much to be done ahead of each sale, handling the muck is one of the biggest jobs Colbert’s crew has during the event itself.

“We probably haul about 20,000 pounds of muck per truck and we do about three trucks every day,” he said. “For this sale, we brought in 6,000 bales of straw and stacked them up in each barn.”

At about 45 pounds a bale, that’s more than a quarter of a million pounds of straw.

The muck collected during the sale goes to an offsite covered facility, where it is separated into soiled straw and manure. The straw goes to a mushroom farm near Orlando and the manure goes to a composting company in Okahumpka.

“OBS tries to be as green as possible with it. It only goes to places that have an actual use for it,” Colbert said.

After every sale, each stall at the facility is sanitized and new clay is put in.

“We hand-scrub all the boards in each stall,” Colbert said.

The facility has more than 1,100 stalls and maintaining sanitary conditions is essential for minimizing the chances of spreading infections and equine diseases.

More than 200 tons of clay is used to re-clay the stalls.

“Horses like to dig. You wonder where it all goes,” Colbert said.

Just before this sale, every shedrow — the walking paths in front of the stalls — was resurfaced with another 225 tons of clean fill dirt. The dirt cannot have any rocks or other debris because it could bruise a horse’s foot.

The dirt and clay is bought from a Williston company.

“We try to buy local whenever we can,” Colbert said.

The crew also is responsible for maintaining landscaping on the grounds.

“This sale we had the added responsibility of landscaping the new tiki bar area. That took three days and set us back a bit,” Colbert said.

The huge tiki bar is a new addition to the facility and sits next to the outdoor viewing area, where horses parade before entering the sale ring.

“It’s really impressive. We’re going to put in TVs so patrons can watch the sale from here,” Colbert said.

Another duty during each sale is making sure the horses brought into the facility not only have the proper paperwork, but are the actual horses represented in the sales catalog.

“They check markings and color to make sure it’s the same horse we have on our list,” Colbert said of his crew. “Once they are sold, they check them again before they leave.”

Giving proper directions to trailer drivers is also an important, but not always recognized, job.

“The logistics of getting the horses in the right spot is a big job. This is a large operation and there is a lot of activity, and our ground crew is an essential part of that,” Ventura said.

Colbert also is in charge of a 15-person security team that patrols the area at night.

“I have a great group of guys. I couldn’t do it without them. They are outstanding,” he said.

Today’s selected portion of the sale starts at 1 p.m. at the OBS pavilion at 1701 SW 60th Ave. The open sessions on Wednesday and Thursday begin at 10:30 a.m.

<p>For Tim Colbert and his crew at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co., the goal is to remain as anonymous as possible. But if not for the thousands of hours of hard work they put in, the facility would quickly fall into disrepair.</p><p>“There a lot of activity that goes on behind the scenes that no one really appreciates until it's not there,” said Tom Ventura, OBS president.</p><p>That's why nothing is left to chance. Everything, from the placement of fire extinguishers to making sure cold water coolers are constantly filled, has been carefully thought out. And Colbert, whose official title is superintendent, is really more of a logistics expert.</p><p>“Every job I've ever had has led me to this. I enjoy the logistics of an operation. My dad says it's the perfect job for me,” said Colbert, who recently completed his first year at OBS.</p><p>The work of the 13 full-time and 30 contract workers will be on display during the three-day August Yearling Sale, which runs today through Thursday.</p><p>Nearly 800 horses will be on the property during the sale, and that many horses create tons of muck, which is manure mixed with soiled straw. Even through there is much to be done ahead of each sale, handling the muck is one of the biggest jobs Colbert's crew has during the event itself.</p><p>“We probably haul about 20,000 pounds of muck per truck and we do about three trucks every day,” he said. “For this sale, we brought in 6,000 bales of straw and stacked them up in each barn.”</p><p>At about 45 pounds a bale, that's more than a quarter of a million pounds of straw.</p><p>The muck collected during the sale goes to an offsite covered facility, where it is separated into soiled straw and manure. The straw goes to a mushroom farm near Orlando and the manure goes to a composting company in Okahumpka.</p><p>“OBS tries to be as green as possible with it. It only goes to places that have an actual use for it,” Colbert said.</p><p>After every sale, each stall at the facility is sanitized and new clay is put in.</p><p>“We hand-scrub all the boards in each stall,” Colbert said.</p><p>The facility has more than 1,100 stalls and maintaining sanitary conditions is essential for minimizing the chances of spreading infections and equine diseases.</p><p>More than 200 tons of clay is used to re-clay the stalls.</p><p>“Horses like to dig. You wonder where it all goes,” Colbert said.</p><p>Just before this sale, every shedrow — the walking paths in front of the stalls — was resurfaced with another 225 tons of clean fill dirt. The dirt cannot have any rocks or other debris because it could bruise a horse's foot.</p><p>The dirt and clay is bought from a Williston company.</p><p>“We try to buy local whenever we can,” Colbert said.</p><p>The crew also is responsible for maintaining landscaping on the grounds.</p><p>“This sale we had the added responsibility of landscaping the new tiki bar area. That took three days and set us back a bit,” Colbert said.</p><p>The huge tiki bar is a new addition to the facility and sits next to the outdoor viewing area, where horses parade before entering the sale ring.</p><p>“It's really impressive. We're going to put in TVs so patrons can watch the sale from here,” Colbert said.</p><p>Another duty during each sale is making sure the horses brought into the facility not only have the proper paperwork, but are the actual horses represented in the sales catalog.</p><p>“They check markings and color to make sure it's the same horse we have on our list,” Colbert said of his crew. “Once they are sold, they check them again before they leave.”</p><p>Giving proper directions to trailer drivers is also an important, but not always recognized, job.</p><p>“The logistics of getting the horses in the right spot is a big job. This is a large operation and there is a lot of activity, and our ground crew is an essential part of that,” Ventura said.</p><p>Colbert also is in charge of a 15-person security team that patrols the area at night.</p><p>“I have a great group of guys. I couldn't do it without them. They are outstanding,” he said.</p><p>Today's selected portion of the sale starts at 1 p.m. at the OBS pavilion at 1701 SW 60th Ave. The open sessions on Wednesday and Thursday begin at 10:30 a.m.</p>